Big Ed and Rosemarie Vega's relationship played out in Season 4 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before
the 90 Days. And viewers couldn't get enough of the couple and their train-wreck romance.
From the cringe-worthy shaving request, to the toothpaste, to the unforgivable secrets
and lies, here's the truth on why these two really hit the skids.
"What do you see?"
"I see what I like."
Big Ed was scrolling through social media one day when he came upon Rosemarie's photo.
He was immediately enchanted by her quote "beautiful eyes," as he revealed to Fox News,
and decided to add her to his list of friends.
"I come across Rosemarie's picture, and I'm like oh my God"
Out of the blue, the two actually started communicating, which led to more than a few
FaceTime chats and, eventually, Rose sending him some selfies. Ed explained,
"She would text me in the morning, ask me how I was, and by the time about two to three
weeks went by, we were literally FaceTiming, I mean, three to four times a day…I have
never experienced anything like this in my life."
"So it was kinda cute"
Their online conversations became a regular thing, with the two engaging in video chats
each morning. Ed recalled,
"She became the best part of my day, basically."
When Big Ed finally travelled to the Philippines to shift their online relationship to the
physical world, he admitted,
"The anticipation, the excitement and the anxiety around that was just, it was a trip.
It was a complete trip."
Ed was born with the rare skeletal disorder in which the bones in his spine are fused
together. For Ed, this resulted in a neck condition that limited his range of motion,
which in turn, created his distinctive physical characteristics. As he explained on YouTube,
the condition has left him with a large ribcage and short stature.
"My height is something that I'm very self-conscious of. But it's something that I've been able
to overcome because I'm Big Ed"
During an appearance on Access Daily, Ed commented on footage that aired on 90 Day Fiancé: Before
the 90 Days documenting the first time that he and Rose first came face to face at the
airport. She expressed her surprise at Ed's height because he had previously claimed he
was just as tall as she was.
"I expected you're as tall to me."
"Tall, more tall."
"You're short to me."
When her first reaction to meeting him was to point out that he was actually shorter
than her, Ed was taken aback, later admitting,
"So, that was kind of a gut punch."
The three-decade age gap could have been a big obstacle for Ed and Rose. When they appeared
on the show, he was 54 while she was just 23. In an interview with The Night Time Show
podcast, Ed admitted that the age gap was never an issue for him, adding,
"I never thought of her as this young girl."
But he was certainly apprehensive about how Rose would feel about him being so much older.
At one point, early in their online relationship, Ed decided to lay it all out on the table,
revealing,
"The first conversation we had was, 'Look, Rose, I'm 54. I'm old enough to be your dad.'
And she's like, 'Well you're actually one year older than my dad.'"
Assuming his age was a dealbreaker, Ed quickly shifted gears and suggested they keep their
relationship in the friend zone and leave it at that. But then Rose said something that
changed everything. Ed recalled,
"She's like 'No, age is just a number.' I'll never forget that. You know, age is just a
number."
During a particularly memorable moment from the show, Ed asked Rose for a so-called "favor,"
requesting in the most excruciatingly awkward way possible that she take an STD test.
"It's a test for um, for um, I don't know if you understand it, it's um, STD."
As she listened to him stammer and dance around what he was trying to say, she finally responded,
and not the way in which Ed had hoped.
"I'm disappointed."
Rose added she wasn't exactly feeling the love in the moment, sharing with producers
that the request wounded her, emotionally, adding,
"I feel hurt. I feel my heart crack."
Even worse, Ed refused to be tested himself while in the Philippines. In an interview
with South Africa's Channel24, Ed explained,
"Honestly, I wasn't comfortable with someone sticking in a needle in my arm in the country,
or the area I was in because it was so desolate."
In hindsight, he admitted he could have handled the whole thing a lot less clumsily and claimed
he regretted not getting himself tested before embarking on his trip. He ultimately did get
an STD test when he returned to the U.S., telling Channel24 it came back clear.
Perhaps the season's most controversial moment occurred the morning after Big Ed and Rose
were intimate for the first time. In bed together, he asked for a kiss, which she refused, claiming
his beard hurt her face. That led Ed to offer a bargain.
"Okay, here's the deal."
"If you shave your legs, I'll shave my beard."
"Why?"
Rosemarie initially balked, but gave in and shaved anyhow, prompting Ed to make good on
his promise. Fans took to social media to slam Ed, including one Twitter user who wrote:
"Big Ed and shoulders gotta lot of nerve criticizing unshaven legs for someone who has no neck,
lied about his height by 6" and uses mayo as a conditioner."
"I smell like an egg salad sandwich."
Another person tweeted,
"[Rose] needs to tell him he ain't no George Clooney either."
"He smelled sour. And maybe it's because of mayo on, ah, his hair."
Big Ed responded to the social media backlash by admitting to Us Weekly that he'd had a
bad morning because, quote, "all of the haters came out."
On the show, Big Ed gifted Rose some mouthwash, toothpaste, and toothbrush, informing her
that her, quote, "breath is not pretty." Ed once again had egg on his face when she later
informed him her halitosis was due to an ulcer, not poor dental hygiene. Ed's comment led
to even more backlash on Twitter, with one person commenting on his repeated missteps:
"Watching Big Ed is like watching somebody slip on a banana peel over and over."
"My track record with relationships is not very good"
Ed's fellow 90 Day Fiancé star, Ricky Reyes was so disgusted with the toothbrush incident,
he called Ed out in a since-deleted social media post, writing,
"Big Ed, this s--- ain't funny. You just disrespected a woman who already allowed you to film her
home and you showed NO class."
As viewers witnessed, while watching the story of Ed and Rose unfold, Big Ed hadn't been
entirely honest with Rose before they finally met in person. In addition to adding a few
inches to his height, he also didn't come clean about his thoughts on having a family.
As the father of a 29-year-old daughter from his first marriage, Ed revealed to viewers
that he had no intention of having another child. He did not, however, share that info
with Rose. When it came to fathering more children, he told Fox News,
"I wasn't ready to do that."
Rose, however, was upfront with Ed about her desire to have another child. She was already
mother to a four-year-old son, Prince, from a previous relationship. For his part, Ed
did admit,
"I wasn't completely honest with Rose."
"I don't want any more kids. I wanna get a vasectomy, but I don't wanna tell her."
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ed claimed he had finally realized that his
dishonesty was the source of his problems, admitting,
"It's never a good idea to lie. You have to be honest, and I'm learning that. Even though
you have strong feelings for someone, it's better to get it out in the open."
When Rose confronted Ed, asking why he didn't tell her his feelings on children at the get-go,
she also ran down a list of all his other lies and the various ways he made her feel
belittled.
"You give me feel a little bit person. I think you not love me."
The situation did not improve when Ed divulged to her that he scheduled an appointment to
have a vasectomy, or, as he explained it, a quote "snip-snip." Rosemarie appeared devastated,
reminding him that she always wanted to have another child.
"I told Ed so many times that I want baby."
Ed was dismayed the following morning to discover Rosemarie had left.
"When I woke up this morning, she was gone."
Her exit also led him to realize he'd made a big assumption that she definitely wanted
to marry him, while he was still trying to figure out whether he wanted to be with her
at all.
Considering all of the uncomfortable moments that were aired on TV, viewers were left questioning
the status of Ed and Rose's relationship. But in May 2020, Ed confirmed what fans already
suspected: They split. He told ET Canada,
"We have parted ways, with a heavy heart. The breakup is so fresh that I'm just going
to keep an open mind."
"In the end, it was too much for her, mom, it was too many, she didn't think I trusted
her."
Defending his overall lack of tact, Ed offered,
"It’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship, I wasn’t trying to be offensive
in any way and never have I said anything negative, nor will I ever, about Rose. I have
respect for her."
Following the airing of the infamous toothbrush incident, Rose took to social media to share
her thoughts on what viewers had just witnessed. In an Instagram Live video, Rose directed
her thoughts at Ed, saying,
"How dare you embarrass me in front of [millions] of people? Please people, don't believe him.
He's fake. He doesn't really care about me. He just wants to be famous, that's why he's
doing that."
"You always embarrassed me."
After calling Ed out for using her in his pursuit of reality TV fame, she then doubled-down
on his fibbing, declaring,
"All of the words that [come] out of his mouth are all lies. He did not care about me, especially
my son."
"I have a ton of stuff for her son Prince. I have candy, toothpaste, I'm bringing toys."
Rosemarie also responded to allegations that she was only after Ed's money, denying she
ever received anything from him, adding,
"He never gave me a penny. It's all lies."
After Big Ed confirmed that it was all over between him and Rose, things took an unexpected
turn when a rumor began winding its way throughout social media. According to the claim, Rose
had since gotten married to a woman. Ed responded to the unverified claims in an interview with
Entertainment Tonight, admitting he had, quote, "no idea" whether there was any truth to the
allegation. He was dubious about the accuracy of the rumor, though, adding,
"90 percent of the stuff I read online…is not true."
"Oh God."
Later, Rose addressed the rumor on Instagram. Responding to a comment asking point-blank
whether it was true that she'd gotten engaged, she replied,
"The rumor that I'm engaged to a woman is NOT TRUE. #stopthelies."
When Big Ed first met Rosemarie's family, everyone seemed to hit it off. Apparently,
though, that friendliness didn't last, at least when it came to Rose's sister, Maria.
"I am worried about meeting her sister, Maria."
As Soap Dirt reported, Maria slammed Ed on social media. According to a rough translation
offered by the outlet, she accused Ed of running what she called a "scam" and hoped for his
demise, adding,
"F--- you, Ed…You just used my sibling just to make money. May you die and receive karma."
"Her sister texted me the other night, she basically said you know I need help, my store's
gonna close. And she's asking me for money."
As viewers of the show of course will recall, this was the same sister who messaged Ed and
asked him for money, leading him to become suspicious that Rose was secretly pulling
the strings and running a scam on him.
"I'm just, I'm done with this right now. I want outta here."
After his breakup with Rose, Big Ed found himself in some hot water when a woman identifying
herself with the handle "Lordakeet" shared a TikTok video featuring on-screen text reading:
"I would like to introduce you to the man who…harassed and assaulted me."
That was followed by video footage of Ed from the show, indicating exactly who she was accusing.
But Ed didn't bother to offer a response to her allegations.
"I'll always have you. I'll always have my Teddy. You're a good boy."
Meanwhile, Rose has seemingly moved on since her breakup with the 90 Day Fiance star, taking
to social media to share photos and videos of herself living her best life. And in an
Instagram post, she announced she would even be launching her own YouTube channel. Along
with videos of herself and her son Prince attempting the "chubby bunny challenge" and
paying a visit to her father's farm, she also posted a video introducing herself.
"I'm having a hard time speaking in English. What if I speak in Bisaya? I'm getting irritated."
In her first vlog, she opened up about such topics as her hobbies and favorite Bible verse.
And, tellingly, there was no mention of Big Ed. Still, Rose's YouTube venture seemed to
be an instant hit, her first video attracted more than three million views within a month
of her posting it in May 2020.
"God bless you all, I love you all. See you."
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